Reviewer's comment concerning 'abnormal activation of the motor cortical network in idiopathic scoliosis demonstrated by functional MRI' (doi:10.1007/s00586-011-1776-8) by J. Domenech et al.

摘要

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a multifactorial disorder with more questions than answers when it comes to aetiopathogenesis. Research has focussed on six major areas: genetic' factors, central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities, hormones/metabolic dysfunction, skeletal growth abnormalities, biomechanical factors and environmental/life style factors [9].Abnormalities in the CNS have long been implicated in the aetiology of AIS. Lowe et al. [6] have suggested a defect of central control or processing by the CNS that affects the growing spine, with most studies pointing to the pontine and hindbrain regions as the most likely sites of the primary pathology. Subsequent research into CNS abnormalities maybe conveniently divided into two major groups: neuroanatomical studies and neurophysiological studies.